Richardson's confidence never wavers for Illinois

Not even after missing 10 of his first 11 shots in the first round of the Big Ten tournament Thursday against Minnesota.

His persistence paid off.Richardson’s 3-pointer came on the fifth shot of the same possession for the Illini to tie the game 49-49 with 48 seconds remaining.

“I kept shooting,” said the senior guard, who scored six points. “I kept shooting. I’m a shooter. I keep shooting. That’s what coach wants me to do. I didn’t think about how I was shooting. I just thought about how it was going to fall.”

It fell in a big way for Richardson, who averages 12.8 points per game.

“I don’t let it affect me,” he said. “I’m going to keep shooting and make plays.”

More to come? Purdue coach Matt Painter remains hopeful his 15-17 team will be able play in a postseason tournament of some sort.

“Oh, sure,” he said. “It’s one of those things where I want the guys to be in the right frame of mind. ... You have to give your word to fight and take it serious and try to win basketball games ... if you get that opportunity.”

Looking forward: Now that No. 10-seed Nebraska has upset No. 7 Purdue, the Cornhuskers are feeling more confident about their chances of knocking off Ohio State Friday. OSU won 63-56 on Feb. 2 in Lincoln, Neb.

“That game was (close) down the stretch,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “We were right there. If things had gone the right way we could have come out on top.

“That’s what you have to cling to. That’s what you have to build your case on. Our guys will be ready to go. Their hearts are fresher than their legs.”

Power conference: OK, so every league bows down to Southeastern Conference football.

But Big Ten basketball is the envy of the nation, with four teams ranked in the AP top 10 and nine in the Sagarin top 60.

“You have to go back to late ‘80s - (NCAA champions) Indiana in ‘87 and Michigan in ‘89 - to see this quality,” BTN analyst Shon Morris said. “And I think the Big Ten is even deeper this year.”